The expert council for climate issues has rejected the climate plan by transport minister Volker Wissing (FDP) as completely inadequate.
(Photo: IMAGO/photothek)
Berlin The expert council for climate issues has rejected the climate plan by transport minister Volker Wissing (FDP) as completely inadequate. On Thursday, the experts who are examining the climate programs on the statutory mandate of the federal government determined that his emergency program was “already without sufficient claim to begin with”.
The plans of building minister Klara Geywitz (SPD) could also not ensure the goals in the building sector. However, their program could make a substantial contribution to reducing emissions.
The targets in the building sector will probably continue to be missed in the next few years, but they could be achieved again from 2028. “Whether the savings can really be realized to this extent seems questionable after our examination,” said the chairman of the council, Hans-Martin Henning.
The deputy chair of the Expert Council, Brigitte Knopf, attested poorer results for the transport sector: “According to the Ministry of Transport, the emergency program for the transport sector saves only 14 megatons of greenhouse gas emissions, so that there is still a mathematical gap in performance of 261 megatons by 2030 .”
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According to the Climate Protection Act, all sectors such as energy, industry, agriculture, buildings and transport have clear, annual targets for their maximum emissions of greenhouse gases. In 2021, buildings and traffic failed to meet their targets.
uncertainties in the law
According to the law, they then had to submit an emergency program to get back on track. Wissing and Geywitz presented their plans for this six weeks ago. The independent expert council will check this again with the report that has now been submitted.
The targets in the building sector will probably continue to be missed in the next few years, but they could be achieved again from 2028
(Photo: dpa)
The government could theoretically ignore this, but this is considered unlikely. By 2030, Germany is obliged to reduce its CO2 emissions by 65 percent compared to 1990. Last year it was around 39 percent.
However, the expert council pointed to vagueness in the law and asked for clarification. These included the time at which the expert council was involved in the review of an emergency program and the exact subject matter of the review.
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Above all, the comprehensive immediate climate protection program provided for in the traffic light coalition agreement is causing uncertainty. The coalition agreement also indicates that the goals could also be achieved across sectors and over several years. The energy sector could thus compensate for deficiencies in transport.
Wissing had also expressly referred to this program. It should already be available, but the government has not yet reached a final agreement, despite partial agreements such as the e-car purchase premium.
More: More charging stations for electric cars? Habeck stops Wissing’s plans